Display device for shoes



Aug. 3, 1965 M. WALTERS DISPLAY DEVICE FOR SHOES Filed Jan. 28, 1965 INVENTOR MAX WALTERS g cmna 25w.

ATTORNEY FIG.3

United States atet O 3,197 ,793 DISPLAY DEVICE FOR SHOES Max Walters, 881 Randolph Place, Union, NJ. Filed Jan. 28, 1965, Ser. No. 428,723 8 Claims. ((11. 12-1) In general, this invention relates to a new and improved display device for shoes, and more particularly to a display device for ankle-strap type womens shoes, which is simple and easy to manufacture and is, further, adaptable for use with display device presently used with heel-strap shoes.

In the past, as exemplified by the disclosure in US. Patent 3,076,984, entitled Display Device for Shoes, by the present inventor, there has been utilized a display device especially manufactured for womens shoes having heel straps. The display devices act as a support for the heel strap. The heel strap is normally not self-supporting and consequently drops onto the heel of the shoe and presents an inartistic appearance without the display device. The display device shown in the above mentioned patent provided a support for holding the heel strap in its normal wearing position to give the shoe a more attractive display appearance. Further, the display device was manufactured of a transparent material so as to be inobtrusive and, further, is manufacturable at low cost. However, the display device of the above mentioned patent is not capable of supporting the ankle strap of an ankle-strap pump or other womens shoes having such ankle straps or variations of ankle straps.

However, it would be desirable to have an ankle strap shoe display device which would be capable of being supported in a manner whereby the ankle strap is displayed as normally worn by a women while avoiding undue attention being drawn to the display device itself. Further, the ankle strap display device should be capable of use with presently existing display devices for heel strap type shoes where the heel strap shoe has an attached ankle strap so that the user of the display device need not purchase duplicating parts. Further, the display device should be useful with ankle strap closed back shoes to support for display purposes the ankle strap thereof.

Therefore, it is the general object of this invention to provide a new and improved display device for womens shoes.

Another object of this invention is a provision of a new and better display device for ankle-strap type womens shoes which is capable of being utilized for both high heel and low heel shoes.

Still another object of this invention is a provision of a new and better display device for womens ankle-strap shoes which can be integrated with existing display devices for womens heel strap shoes or be utilized above for womens closed back ankle strap shoes.

A further object of this invention is a provision of a new and better display device for womens ankle-strap shoes which is inexpensive to manufacture and inobtrusive in appearance. 4

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings forms which are presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a womans anklestrap pump in which the heel strap and ankle strap are held up by the display device of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the display device of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the display device of the present invention.

plane.

ice.

FIGURE 4 is a partial side elevational view of the display device of the present invention with the ankle strap support portion being removed from the heel strap support portion.

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 6 is a partial side elevational view of the embodiment of FIGURE 5 with the ankle strap portion being separated from the heel strap portion in the manner similar to the showing of FIGURE 4.

In FIGURE 1, there is shown in phantom line a high heel shoe of the ankle strap type generally designated by the numeral It The shoe 10 has a heel portion 12 to which is secured a single adjustable heel strap 14. At the top dead center 16 of the heel strap 14 there is secured an adjustable ankle strap 18 which, for a high heel shoe, is intended to be worn in approximately a horizontal It will be understood that low heel shoes having ankle straps are intended to be worn with'the ankle strap extending upwardly from the horizontalmore so than the high heel shoe to accommodate the wearer.

It will be understood that the looped adjustable heel strap 14 and adjustable ankle strap 18 when on display without'a support, would lie on top of the heel portion 12 of the shoe 10 and present an inartistic appearance.

T 0 hold the heel strap 14 in an elevated position and in the position it assumes when the sandal is worn, there is provided a heel strap support 20 built in accordance with the teachings of my invention shown in US. Patent 3,076,984. That is, the heel strap support 20 is generally L-shaped and comprises a horizontal portion 22, a vertical portion 24, and a projection 26 depending from thevertical portion 24. The horizontal portion 22 rests on the heel portion 12 of the shoe and said depending projection 26 carries a small pin or tack 28 which is anchored to the back of the heel portion 12 to hold the support 20 to the sandal. The upper part of the vertical portion 24 has a bifurcated end 30 which receives the top dead center portion 16 of the adjustableheel strap'14 around the outside thereof and holds it in place.

The bifurcated end portion 30 comprises two upwardly extending fingers 32 and 34 having smooth inner sur faces 36 and 38 parallel to one another and defining a generally U-shaped opening for receiving a downward projection 40 of the ankle strap support 42. Ankle strap support 42 has an oval portion 41 and is preferably manufactured of a rigid transparent plastic material. At one long diameter end of the oval portion 41 there is integrally formed the projection 40. The projection 40 extends downwardly at an angle greater than from the plane of the oval portion 41. That is, the projection 40 has a flat inner surface 44 and a flat outer surface 46 extending from the top of the oval portion 41 to the end of the projection 40. The flat surface 44 and the flat surface 45 are at an angle greater than 90 to the plane of the oval portion 41. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the projection 40 was at'an angle of from the plane of the oval portion 41.

It will be noted that the inner surfaces 36 and 380i the legs 32 and 34 are in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the horizontal portion 22 of the heel strap 20. Accordingly, when the display device is utilized with a high heel pump such as the pump 10 showing in FIGURE 1, and the projection 40 is inserted within the bifurcated member 30, the ankle strap support 42 extends in a plane substantially horizontal. Further, if the ankle strap support 42 was utilized with a closed back ankle strap type shoe, the projection 40 would rest against the counter of the shoe to effect the same angular disposition discussed previously with respect to the heel strap type shoe.

In FIGURE 5, there is shown a second embodiment of v.15 the present invention in which the display device 50 includes an ankle strap support 52 and a heel strap support 54. The heel strap support 54 is substantially similar to the support 20 shown in FIGURE 1 and includes the bi furcated end portion 55. The ankle strap support 52 ineludes an oval portion 56 lying in a horizontal plane With an extension 58 formed at one of its long diameter ends. The extension 58 extends below the oval loop 56 and has a flat rectangular slot 60 therethrough which provides parallel surfaces at the long diameter end which surfaces are at an angle greater than 90 to the plane of the oval 56.

The bifurcated end portion 55 is intended to be placed within the slot 60 in the manner shown in FIGURE 6 so that the ankle strap support can assume the position as has been described with respect to FIGURES 1-4. In fact, if end portion 55 is not bifurcated but was merely a notch, the ankle strap support 52 would still be operative.

It will be understood that the present invention has achieved its objects by the utilization of the transparent light plastic ankle strap supports 42 and 52 which are intended to be placed within the ankle strap loop 18. Within the ankle strap loop 18, the ankle strap support is substantially hidden and, is thus inobtrusive. Further, it will be noted that if the ankle strap support 42 is used with existing heel strap supports shoe stores need not purchase two piece ankle strap shoe display devices, but need merely purchase the ankle strap support members 42 and 50. Further, the ankle strap support 42 can also be used with closed back ankle strap shoes.

Still further, it will be noted that when the display device of the present invention is utilized on low heel shoes, the ankle strap support members 42 and/or 50 will extend upwardly as would normally be worn by the woman who purchased the shoe and, accordingly, the display becomes more lifelike by reason of this position.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A display device for use with a shoe having a heel portion, said heel portion having a back support extending about said heel portion and said back support having attached thereto an ankle strap extending forwardly to go around the ankle of the wearer and requiring support for display purposes to hold it in normal wearing position, said display device comprising an ankle strap support formed as a rigid endless loop lying in a flat plane, said endless loop having an integral projection operative to engage a supporting member to hold said endless loop at an acute angle to the plane of the heel portion of the shoe.

2. The display device in claim 1 in which said endless loop is oval in shape, said projection including a surface at one long diameter end of said oval endless loop, said surface being at an angle greater than 90 to the plane of the endless loop.

3. The display device in claim 2 wherein said surface is at an angle of approximately 120 to the plane of the endless loop.

4. The display device of claim 1 wherein said projection includes downwardly extending parallel surfaces at an angle greater than to the plane of the horizontal loop.

5. The display device of claim 1 wherein said endless loop is manufactured of a rigid transparent plastic material.

6. A display device for use with a shoe having a heel portion and a single adjustable heel strap, said strap being anchored at its front ends to the sides of the shoe and extending backwardly free to go around the heel of the wearer and requiring a support for display purposes to hold it in normal position, said shoe additionally having an adjustable ankle strap anchored to the heel strap and extending forwardly to go around the ankle of the wearer and requiring support for display purposes to hold it in normal wearing position, said display device comprising an upright member adapted to support adjacent its top the rear of the heel strap, said device having a base portion adapted to be placed on the top surface of the heel portion and extending forwardly from the rear of the heel portion along the longitudinal medial line of the shoe, and a projecting portion extending downwardly in the plane of the upright member below the top surface of the heel portion and adapted to engage the back of the heel portion to anchor the display device to the shoe, and ankle strap support member connected to said upright member at its upper end, said ankle strap support member including a rigid endless loop extending forwardly from said upright portion at an angle greater than 90 to the plane of said upright member, and connecting means connecting said rigid endless loop at one point on its circumference to the upper end of said upright member.

7. The display device of claim 6 wherein said upright member upper end includes at least one extension having a surface thereon parallel to the plane of said upright member, said ankle strap support member including a surface on said endless loop for placement on said upright member upper end surface to support said endless loop, said endless loop surface being at an angle greater than 90 to the plane of said endless loop.

8. The display device of claim 7 wherein said ankle strap support member has a second surface parallel to said first mentioned surface, said upright member upper end having a second surface parallel to said first mentioned upper end surface, said second ankle strap support member surface abutting said second upright member upper end surface to support said ankle strap support member, said first and second ankle strap support member surfaces telescoping with respect to said first and second upright member upper end surfaces.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,466,139 4/49 Waugh 12128 2,777,216 1/57 Norman 223-66 X 2,936,533 5/60 Paynor 36-25 3,076,984 2/63 Walters 12-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 800,156 9/50 Germany.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DISPLAY DEVICE FOR USE WITH A SHOE HAVING A HEEL PORTION, SAID HEEL PORTION HAVING A BACK SUPPORT EXTENDING ABOUT SAID HEEL PORTION AND SAID BACK SUPPORT HAVING ATTACHED THERETO AN ANKLE STRAP EXTENDING FORWARDLY TO GO AROUND THE ANKLE OF THE WEARER AND REQUIRING SUPPORT FOR DISPLAY PURPOSES TO HOLD IT IN NORMAL WEARING POSITION, SAID DISPLAY DEVICE COMPRISING AN ANKLE STRAP SUPPORT FORMED AS A RIGID ENDLESS LOOP LYING IN A FLAT PLANE, SAID ENDLESS LOOP HAVING AN INTEGRAL PROJECTION OPERATIVE TO ENGAGE A SUPPORTING MEMBER TO HOLD SAID ENDLESS LOOP AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE PLANE OF THE HEEL PORTION OF THE SHOE. 